Teesside has been confirmed as one of the regions which will play a key role in the building of two Royal Navy aircraft carriers.

The jobs bonanza will total around 11,000 in the North-east with a substantial number based on Teesside.

Helen Logan, Karen McLauchlan and Eddie Johnson report on what victory in the Battle for Ships campaign means to the area.

Shipyard workers on Teesside are jubilant that their future is secured for several years.

But the news Teesside has won a large chunk of the aircraft carrier work has much wider implications.

For as well as the rebirth of what many had thought of as a dead and buried industry, there will be massive opportunities for other local businesses.

Port Clarence will be a main focus on Teesside with Swan Hunter saying work from the aircraft carrier will hit an employment peak of 1,500 workers.

This is a huge reversal in fortunes for the former offshore yard, which was redundant for two years until Swans bought it.

Hundreds of people once more working on the site will prove a big boost to surrounding shops, and other businesses.

John Flynn, a 57-year-old welder from Ingleby Barwick, said: "I am delighted. This is tremendous news, not just for us at Port Clarence but for the whole of the Teesside area and the rest of the North-east."

He added: "I used to work at Bulkhaul in Middlesbrough for seven years in their manufacturing department.

"We made container tanks but that division was closed at Bulkhaul just over a year ago and following that I was out of work for three months, so I know what it's like not to have a job.

"I've been a welder for a number of years and this news will be a great help both to people who are in jobs and want to move on and to people out of work looking for jobs and those who have had to travel both to other parts of the UK and abroad to find work."

Les Fleming, 51, a plater, said: "I live right on the doorstep at Port Clarence and I've worked here since July. But I was here before when Kvaerner had it.

"My son Christopher is leaving school at Billingham next year. He's 15 and he attends Billingham Campus.

"He's not the sort to go into computers and the hi-tech field and I think he would be cut out for a job here.

"After all the rates of pay which go up to #11.10 an hour in April are not bad.

"Living in Port Clarence I also know what it means to the locality to have lots of people working in the area. There are only about 100 of us at the moment at this yard and that could be going up by hundreds.

"It will do the local shopkeepers and other traders a hell of a lot of good."

Les Ford, 53, a rigger of Hartlepool, said: "I've worked here for eight months now and I've been out of work a few times. This news is very good as it gives us a lot of security."

Andy Edon, 49, of Eston, the general foreman at Port Clarence, said: "This is not just good news for Swan Hunter and us who are employed here, but the knock-on effect for the whole of the area is going to be tremendous."

The news has been greeted in the region as the "greatest day in shipyards history".

It has also been dubbed a "fantastic shot in the arm" for the area.

Kevin Curran, GMB northern regional secretary, said the UK's shipyards will have guaranteed work for the next ten years.

Mr Curran said: "This is fantastic news for the UK manufacturing. It is great news for working people in our country, and it's a wonderful boost for those of us who want to maintain a manufacturing industry in this country.

"This is a proud and emotional day for me - and for all those who have worked so hard to revive the shipyards.

"When I first came to the North-east from London in 1997 I was told the shipyards were a 'sunset' industry. However, we have proven that there can be a sustainable future for our shipyards."

George Cowcher, chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce, helped spearhead the Battle for Ships campaign in its early days when he worked for the regional development agency One NorthEast.

"The announcement is terrific news for the North-east but there are still two major challenges.

"We will be pressing for Thales to set up their design centre for the project here in the North-east. And we will be hoping other fabrication yards in the region will win work from the carriers.

"The details will be worked out over the coming months, but the important message is we can do it here!"

Joe Docherty, chief executive of the Tees Valley Urban Regeneration Company, said: "We've got the opportunity not just to deliver the carriers, but to create a centre for engineering skills for the 21st century.

"This is positive news for Tees Valley and the North-east and that can only help attract further investment."

John Bridge, chairman of regional development agency One NorthEast, said: "BAe and Thales have already pledged that the North-east will play a vital role in assembling these huge vessels. We are confident the Tees has the skills base to achieve this."

Councillor Bob Gibson, chairman of the Tees Valley Development Company, said the news was "a fantastic shot in the arm for the Tees Valley".

A mainstay of Swan Hunter's carrier strategy will be to create employment for young people and upgrade the skills of older workers.

Kenny Relton, Swan Hunter corporate manager, said: "At Port Clarence there are 101 employees on site at the moment and we will eventually be increasing this to 1,500."

He added: "One of our aims will be to be introducing young people to these skills and there will be lots of apprenticeships. There are already 111 on the Tyne at the moment.

"These apprenticeships are both modern apprenticeships and adult apprenticeships.

"Also we are going to redevelop the site here which stretches over 43 acres."

Asked when recruitment would start Mr Relton said one of the first things they would be doing as management, now the contract had been awarded, was to sit down and look at the way ahead.